Load following algorithm for a fuel cell based system

A fuel cell distribution system for controlling power applied to a system load, said system comprising:

• a fuel cell for generating a draw current, said fuel cell being responsive to a fuel input and an air input;
• a power conditioning module responsive to the draw current, said power conditioning module conditioning the draw current and applying a conditioned current to the system load;
• a fuel cell sensor for measuring the draw current from the fuel cell, said fuel cell sensor generating a fuel cell signal indicative of the measured draw current;
• and
• a fuel cell controller responsive to the fuel cell signal, said fuel cell controller operating a load following algorithm that provides a command signal applied to the fuel cell for determining available output power from the fuel cell, said load following algorithm providing a buffer of fuel input and air input to the fuel cell so that the fuel cell is able to immediately generate additional current above the draw current in response to transients from the system load, said load fuel cell controller including a first order lag filter for filtering noise in the fuel cell signal and limiting filtering of the transients in the fuel cell signal, said load following algorithm averaging the filtered fuel cell signal over a predetermined number of sample periods, wherein the averaged fuel cell signal is combined with a buffer signal to provide the extra fuel input and air input.

A method for distributing power from a fuel cell to a load, said method comprising:

• applying fuel to the fuel cell;
• applying air to the fuel cell;
• drawing current from the fuel cell to a power conditioning module;
• conditioning the draw current in the power conditioning module;
• applying the conditioned draw current to the load;
• measuring the draw current from the fuel cell;
• and
• providing a command signal to the fuel cell that sets the fuel and air to the fuel cell and determines available output power from the fuel cell, said command signal providing a predetermined extra amount of fuel and air to the fuel cell so that the fuel cell is able to generate additional output power immediately in response to an increased demand from the load.